If you have not already made plans to get on the air for Field Day 2014, tick-tock, tick-tock. It’s just days away, but it’s not too late. Field Day 2014 is Saturday and Sunday, June 28 and 29. ARRL Field Day is the year’s most popular operating event, and more than 35,000 radio amateurs will be setting up stations — sometimes multiple stations — in the field, at campsites, in public parks, and even on their decks or in their backyards to get in on the fun. Think of it as the first weekend of Amateur Radio’s summer. Last year, more than 2500 stations submitted entries.

Field Day is primarily a group activity, though, and if you’re not yet on the roster to operate from your club’s Field Day site, volunteer now! If you don’t belong to a club or don’t know if there’s a Field Day operation setting up in your area, check the Field Day Locator to find one. Clubs welcome new operators, especially if they are willing to take the graveyard (overnight) shift or other less-desirable time slots or if they bring some special talent or expertise to the picnic table — top-notch CW proficiency, satellite expertise, or antenna skills.

If you’d rather just stay at home, you can operate your own station as is, and work stations in the field, or you can set up to operate from an emergency power source, such as a generator, batteries, or solar panels, and work everyone else. Field Day got its start in the 1930s as an emergency communication exercise, and that tradition continues today. Some stations will be on the air from emergency operations centers.

The object is simple: To work as many stations as possible on any and all Amateur Radio bands — excluding 60, 30, 17, and 12 meters — and to learn to operate in less-than-optimal conditions. The camaraderie is special, and there’s a place for operators at all skill levels — from newbies and even prospective licensees to grizzled veterans.

Find your place at Field Day 2014, and enjoy Amateur Radio to the max!